Meleek Thomas is leaving Lincoln Peak Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh to sign with Overtime Elite.

Thomas is the No. 7 prospect in ESPN's class of 2025.

"I did everything I needed to do where I'm from," Thomas said. "We won back-to-back state championships. Now it's time to be seen by NBA personnel, GMs, scouts, the people that you need to be in front of. At OTE they get your name out. Everything they do goes around the world. I want to be broadcasted more."

Thomas said he'll take official visits to UConn and Arkansas later this month. He's also being heavily recruited by Kansas, Auburn, Pitt, Alabama, Kansas State, Indiana, Tennessee, Miami and others.

Thomas also said he was initially caught off guard by the possibility of Dan Hurley leaving UConn for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

"I didn't expect that; it just popped up," Thomas said. "He ended up turning it down, which must mean something. That definitely makes UConn more attractive now. With all the money he was offered, he's still committed to the school he built up. Being highly recruited by him means they are serious. That's the message I got."

There is some uncertainty over whether the Los Angeles Lakers had always targeted Dan Hurley to be their head coach, or if it was a new development after his extension talks with UConn stalled and how serious he ever was about leaving for the NBA.

Before the start of the Hurley talks, the Lakers were reportedly close to settling on JJ Redick for the job.

"It had been apparent that JJ Redick was separating himself as as one of the front runners, but obviously he is part of the NBA Finals coverage right now, and the feeling was that at some point after The Finals, these sides would reconvene and actually do something to bring him out to L.A. and do a more formal meeting," said Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee Show.

"So last week, really, around Wednesday of last week, the Lakers turned their attention to Dan Hurley and he has he was not mentioned from the start of this search as far as going after."

The Hurley extension talks were reportedly a factor in the timing of the Lakers' pursuit.

"He was in the midst of contract extension negotiations after Memorial Day," said Charania. "They've been going back and forth, and the Lakers, you know for some reason, somehow felt like there was an opening with Dan Hurley. And around the league what is now being termed to me is like really 'a Hail Mary offer' to Dan Hurley. They come in six years, $70 million, so he was around $5 million or $6 million at UConn, they're bumping that up two times to around $12 million per year.

"But Dan Hurley clearly, clearly did not want to really leave UConn and he chose to stay at the end of the day. And he's taking $20 million less to stay at UConn to continue to build what he's building."

Charania added he believes Hurley benefits with this story as a public demonstration of his commitment to UConn in the near-term and he will have future opportunities for the NBA.

"What better way to tell recruits than to say I turned down the Lakers job for $70 million, so Dan Hurley obviously a major, major winner through all this, and deservingly so. I think you guys had me on around the final four around the tournament and we talked about Dan Hurley and how special he is as a coach.

"And I think, listen, at the end there's questions around the league as to whether that was a genuine interest for Dan Hurley was this a genuine part of the process, or was this simply a leverage move for Dan Hurley, but clearly he gets his money. He gets his bag."

Dan Hurley ultimately decided to remain at UConn, turning down an opportunity to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. Hurley's reasoning for the decision was explained by Adrian Wojnarowski.

"Start with the opportunity Dan Hurley has at UConn," said Wojnarowski on Get Up on Tuesday morning. "As you said, to do something that hasn't been done since John Wooden's UCLA teams, that's win a third straight NCA Championship. Probably never have that chance again as a coach. This is a unique time in his life and his career. That's number one.

"Number two, Dan Hurley really studied everything that was re required to be an NBA coach and the adjustments he was going to have to make. As much as the Lakers wanted what Dan Hurley brought, his program building his player development, the way he can forge relationships with players. You know the great X's and O' acumen. He's running a lot of stuff in college that's been intriguing to NBA coaches who they want to steal from a little bit. or all of that, Dan Hurley was going to have to adjust and knew that he had to be ready to make the adjustments in temperament, in practice time, all the things that come with being an NBA coach from college basketball. And, ultimately, Dan Hurley wasn't there yet on doing that.

"So they negotiated out a number almost $12 million a year it would have put him just behind [Gregg] Popovich, Steve Kerr, Ty Lou, coaches who have a combined 12 NBA championships and more than double what he was making at Connecticut. He had negotiated a new deal for himself with his agent weeks ago that's going to be, I'm told, kind of in the $8 million plus range. It'll put him among the highest paid coaches in college basketball, but they never negotiated off that, or leveraged off that with the Lakers. The Lakers was a singular moment for Dan Hurley and it wasn't about getting his UConn number up. It already was up and that was before UConn even knew about the Laker conversations.

"I think in the end for Dan Hurley, he wasn't ready to do the job. I think he loved what he heard in L.A. from Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss. He loved the idea of having Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and the group they have in the short-term. And then working with Pelinka over time with a six-year deal to draft players to find what Rob Pelinka told him would be Hurley-type players for the Lakers. He was going to have a hand in all of that

"But ultimately, for Dan Hurley, at 51 years old, wasn't ready to make that move. And I think there was never really an instance in the last days of this where Dan Hurley told the Lakers, 'Hey, if you hit this number I am coming.' He wasn't ready to come and it wasn't about what the number was.

"Listen, the Lakers were taking some risk too that Hurley could make this adjustment that as great as he is that he was going to be a fully formed NBA coach and that offer you know certainly put him in the upper echelon of NBA coaches, so maybe this isn't as much about the money as a lot of people were making when they saw it the initial numbers they came out yesterday."

Dan Hurley has rejected a six-year, $70 million offer to become head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers to remain at UConn.

The Lakers pursued Hurley over a number of weeks, but it only became a publicly reported story last week. Hurley reportedly made his decision to remain at UConn on Sunday with the news breaking on Monday.

Hurley told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday that the Lakers made a "compelling case" and presented a "compelling vision" for him to become head coach. 

James Borrego has remained a candidate for the job, while the Lakers could also conduct their first formal interview with JJ Redick.

UConn's Dan Hurley will make a decision on Monday on taking the Los Angeles Lakers head coach job. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on NBA Countdown ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals that "Hurley is expected to inform the Lakers of his decision by Monday."

Hurley said Los Angeles made a "compelling case" for him to take their head coaching job. He also said the Lakers have a "compelling vision", but that he loves what he's built at UConn.

It was reported earlier in the day on Sunday that Hurley did not meet with his UConn players over the weekend. Hurley had previously met with his team to inform that he was discussing leaving the Huskies to take the Lakers job.

It's been reported that Los Angeles has made Hurley a "massive" offer to become their next head coach. Expectations are that the Lakers may have offered Hurley more years and more money than is common in NBA coaching contracts. Los Angeles wants Hurley to bring a program-building style of coaching to the NBA, given concerns the new CBA has placed on teams above the tax aprons.

Dan Hurley will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers this weekend to discuss their head coaching job, but the two sides still have work to do on building a relationship.

"I just think it's important for the Lakers to try to close this weekend," said Brian Windhorst on Get Up of the meeting previously reported by Adrian Wojnarowski. "I know that this has momentum as Woj talked about, but it's been emphasized to me that this is not a done deal. That there is still relationship building and conversations that need to take place that are probably going to take place over the next couple of days."

While Hurley signed an extension with UConn in June of 2023, he hasn't signed one following a second consecutive championship. UConn, however, did recently extend Geno Auriemma as head coach of the women's team. UConn could make Hurley an improved financial offer to entice him to remain as head coach and not leave for the Lakers.

"You know UConn had a chance now to sort of move back," added Windhorst. "You know, one of the things that didn't happen in the wake of that second championship, UConn was not able to get a contract extension done with Dan Hurley in these two months that have passed since they won that title. And I'll point out this week they did get one done with Geno Auriemma, their legendary women's basketball coach, that's in place. So now UConn is scrambling trying to improve their offer to give him another option as he weighs what is a certainly a lucrative offer from the Lakers."

Windhorst also referenced comments from Hurley talking about his extension talks with UConn and that the school has a window to keep him.

Kanon Catchings was released from his letter of intent with Purdue and will reopen his recruitment.

Catchings is ranked No. 35 in the ESPN 100 for the 2024 class.

Catchings featured for Overtime Elite last season. 

Dan Hurley will travel to California on Friday to meet with the Los Angeles Lakers to discuss their head coaching vacancy. Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss will lead the meeting with Hurley as the pair are "eager to close a deal" with the UConn head coach. Hurley is represented by Bret Just of WME.

The two sides are discussing contractual parameters, which will be significant in length and salary.

Hurley has yet to make a decision about leaving UConn for the Lakers, but sources tell ESPN there is "momentum" in the talks. 

UConn's administration was notified by Hurley of his talks with the Lakers on Wednesday, and he told his players on Thursday.

Hurley has been the Lakers' top target since the beginning of their search despite their reported strong interest in J.J. Redick. The only canidate to have two in-person interviews has been James Borrego. 

Reports emerged on Thursday that the Los Angeles Lakers' top target to become their next head coach is Dan Hurley. The Lakers were previously believed to be choosing between J.J. Redick and James Borrego with Redick as the more probable candidate. There was an expectation a decision wouldn't be reached until after Redick completes his duties broadcasting the NBA Finals.

Even though Hurley is under no such time constrains, a decision is not expected until next week at the earliest. 

"The Lakers have started working to convince Dan Hurley, the UConn coach, the back-to-back champion, to take their head coaching job," said Shams Charania on Run It Back. "I'm told it's likely that Hurley will make a decision over the next week or so likely goes into next week on a decision."

Hurley has previously had interest in someday coaching in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers are targeting UConn's Dan Hurley as their next head coach. Los Angeles has made initial contact with Hurley, and discussions are expected to pick up in the coming days. Adrian Wojnarowski describes the Lakers as "relentless" in trying to close a deal with Hurley and that he has been their No. 1 target since they began their search.

The Lakers are prepared to offer Hurley a massive, long-term contract to jump from the Huskies to the NBA. Even while interviewing several other candidates, Hurley has been at the forefront of the coaching search for general manager Rob Pelinka and primary governor Jeanie Buss.

Hurley has won back-to-back national championships while at Connecticut. He's regarded as a great tactician and developer of talent. The Lakers believe Hurley will be able to maximize their young core, while developing future talent. Los Angeles believes those to be keys to winning in the NBA's new second-apron era. With restrictions on roster-building for the most expensive teams, developing young players could be key to winning at a high level.

Hurley has expressed interest in one day coaching in the NBA and has let the Lakers know he'd like to "explore the full picture of a partnership with one of basketball's winningest franchises."

Reports had previously come from multiple channels that J.J. Redick was likely to be offered the job after the conclusion of The Finals, which he is working as a broadcaster. The other publicly known candidate under strong consideration has been James Borrego. 

Hurley signed a new six-year, $32.1 million contract extension with UConn in June 2023. The deal runs through the 28-29 season.